


helping hands

by Trashbabe (TheTrashBabes)



Category: Force of Nature - Fandom
Genre: Em being terrible at writing, Fluff, M/M, Natling being cute af, also shoujo manga bullshit
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-14
Updated: 2016-02-14
Packaged: 2018-05-20 12:28:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,017
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6006061
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheTrashBabes/pseuds/Trashbabe
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>ask me to stay</p>
            </blockquote>





	helping hands

**Author's Note:**

  * For [taylortot](https://archiveofourown.org/users/taylortot/gifts).



> These are taylortot's (zenwisterias) OCs! I own neither of these characters!
> 
> Written by Em because it's Valentines Day and I'm a piece of fluffy Natling trash

Everything about him stood out.

Amongst a sea of baggy hoodies and unwashed hair he stood as a pristine statue, his face stoic with concentration and his nose slightly scrunched to hint at frustration. He wore crisp, clean slacks and a pure white button up, the sleeves rolled to reveal his toned, tanned arms. A brilliant blue sweater vest covered his slender chest and brought your attention to the matching blue of his eyes- like staring into the calming currents of a tropical sea. The boy unfolded his arms and ran a hand through his perfectly styled golden locks, tousling them ever so slightly. Looking at him was a breath of fresh air.

Nathan felt it fill his lungs with an addictive thrill as he stood frozen in the entrance of the noisy arcade surrounding them, his eyes locked on the stranger before him. He was lost, that was evident; his eyes darted around the room with careful calculation and his stiff posture did little to hide his discomfort. Nate begged his body to move and his feet turned to rockets, propelling him towards the stranger on their own agenda. The wistful smell of cologne hit him like a wall and the small boy’s head spun like a merry-go-round. It was only after he felt the hard impact of back to face did his mind finally catch up to his body. “What the fuck? Watch it, dweeb.” 

Nathan’s hand flew to his forehead, realization finally settling in. He’d been so caught up in the stranger’s appearance, he had walked directly into his back. “Shit. I-I’m sorry. I, uh, are you…” His tongue was performing acrobatics, twisting every which way and making it impossible to form an intelligent sentence. Color rushed to the flustered boy’s freckled cheeks as he stammered, trying to regain his senses. His mouth opened again only to be cut off before a proper word could be spoken.

“If one more cheeto coated hand tries to push me out of the way, I’m going to have this entire establishment shut down for good.” The blonde muttered angrily, dusting off non-existent cheese dust from his clothes. Finally, the gears in Nathan’s brain were able to click together and his eyes widened with shock.

“Huh? You can’t close down the arcade. It’s been here since, like, the seventies or something, dude. It’d be like closing down a historical landmark. Besides, who the hell are you?” Nate’s attempts to conceal the snark in his tone fell short and he arched an eyebrow, expecting a sharp retort from the prep who stood before him. Instead, he was answered with an indignant snort, accompanied by an eyeroll, as the taller boy turned away, clearing searching for the exit. Something in Nathan’s chest tightened and suddenly he felt guilty for calling out the stranger’s empty threat. 

“Listen, you’re clearly not one of the cave-dwelling mushrooms that hangs around here normally and I promise you I haven’t touched a cheeto in the past 24 hours. Can I like, help you find something or what?” Nathan’s tone had managed to sound calm and collected but his heart pounded against his ribs. Something about this boy made him inconceivably nervous. Blue eyes traced down his body, deciding whether or not the backwards-cap wearing nerd was worthy of being trusted or not. Finally, the stranger sighed with a reluctant air of defeat.

“I guess. I was looking for this cafe.” He held up a slip of paper with something French scribbled across it and Nathan squinted, peering through his glasses and trying to recall where he had seen it before. Sweater Vest cleared his throat and tucked the paper back in his pocket, straightening up and painting a fake smirk on his face. “I’m meeting my date there and she’s waited long enough.” Nathan bit back a grin of disbelief but his expression must have betrayed him. He watched the boy’s smirk waver and a shy pink blush rise from his neck to his cheeks as he averted his gaze. “Anyway. Can you help me or what? My phone died and I can’t search the address.” When he looked back up, it was like an arrow speared through Nathan’s heart. His eyes were soft and shy, contradicting the confident persona he tried to hard to uphold. A crooked grin made it’s way onto Nate’s lips and he chuckled lightly.

“I can give you a lift there.” He paused thoughtfully and stuck out his hand. “I’m Nate. Here to be your knight in shining armor.” A playful tone laced his teasing words and the blue-eyed boy raised an eyebrow, shaking his head and suppressing a smile as he took the smaller hand in his.  
“Sterling. I guess that makes me the princess.”

~*~*~

“You have to be joking.” Sterling mouth hung open with disbelief, the warm spring sun illuminating his light hair like a halo. Nathan glanced at him out of the corner of his eye before responding to his outburst.

“I said I’d give you a lift. I never said what kind of vehicle it was.” Nate walked forward, grabbing his helmet off the handlebars of his bike and tossing it to Sterling who caught it absentmindedly, the disbelief still blatantly obvious on his face.  
“Where the hell do you expect me to sit?”

Nathan mounted the bike, kicking up the kickstand and patting the space between the handlebars with a sly smile. “On the throne of course. Come on, we don’t want to keep your date waiting any longer now, do we?” He watched as the blush returned to Sterling’s cheeks and he found himself wondering what kind of warmth this cool boy had to offer. The thought triggered his own heat and he coughed awkwardly, pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose and awaiting Sterling’s response.

Hesitantly, Sterling fastened the helmet to his head, still reluctant to approach the bicycle. “Isn’t this incredibly dangerous? And I’m gonna have helmet hair now.” Nathan had to hold back a laugh as he watched Sterling pout his lip, reminiscent of a stubborn child. But his lips were pale and pink and they looked soft to the touch and Nathan found himself fantasizing again, stranded in the crystal sea of Sterling’s gaze.

“Hmm…” He hummed absentmindedly before realizing Sterling was expecting an answer, and he quickly blurted out a response. “I’ll take it slow, okay?” Hearing the obvious joke that could be made from his words, Nate quickly followed up, “We’re a block away from the cafe, I mean. I’ll pedal slowly and take a back road so...you’ll be safe okay? I promise.” Nathan extended his pinky, thinking nothing of it. He had made many a pinky promise with Alyn before and it had become second nature to extend it whenever swearing his word. What he didn’t expect was the light-hearted laugh shaking the shoulders of his new acquaintance as he smiled and hooked his pinky to Nate’s.

“What are we, twelve? Bike riding and pinky promises? This shit is straight out of a shoujo manga.” Sterling’s nerves relaxed as he laughed and he carefully studied the boy before him, satisfied with the flustered expression that met his words. As his laugh died out, his voice softened and he smiled, finally approaching the bike and situating himself on the handlebars, his rear end positioned incredibly close to Nathan’s strawberry-red face. “I trust you. But no checking out my ass, okay?” The comment caught them both off-guard and Sterling’s face nearly exploded with heat as he quickly turned forward to hide his expression.  
Nate’s eyes widened and a bright smile stretched across his face as he barked out a warm laugh. “Too late!” With those words, he pushed off the ground, his band-aid covered knees working full time to propel the bike forward, and Sterling gasped with shock before joining in on Nathan’s laugh, the two sounds harmonizing as the boys rode off down the street.

~*~*~

The sound of rubber screeching against pavement was nearly drowned out by Nathan’s heaves of effort, his breath heavy and winded. Sterling hopped down and unfastened the helmet, his hand rubbing the spot when the handlebars had dug into his thighs. “That might be the most uncomfortable ride I’ve ever had.” 

“S...sorry. Feel free to...give my service a low rating on Yelp.” Nathan panted, finally regaining some of his wind as he wiped at beads of sweat that decorated his forehead. “Oh god,” He wheezed, “Death is...coming for me.” He climbed off the bike and Sterling gasped, biting back a laugh as Nathan yanked down the bunched up hem of his shorts to cover up the alien-themed boxers that had decided to make an appearance.

“Those were cute.” The blonde boy teased, and he realized how badly he wanted to see them again. 

Nathan stared at the ground, the gentle breeze doing nothing to cool the warmth of his skin as he smiled shyly, his feet glued to the sidewalk. Ask me. “Well, I guess I better get going.” Ask me to stay. “Tell your date I say hi.” He didn’t move but he peeked up at Sterling, once again marveling at the sapphire stare that met his glance. 

Nate’s sudden goodbye caught Sterling off guard and he realized how every corner of his mind was screaming at him to make him stay. Ask him. “Wait!” The freckled boy hadn’t budged but he looked up fully at Sterling’s outburst, and Sterling could swear he saw a glimmer of hope swim through Nathan’s emerald irises. His heart swelled in his chest and caught in his throat as he tried to voice his urgency. “You...we should...can I buy you a soda?” The request came out in stuttered bursts but the grin that welcomed his request proved that Nathan couldn’t care less.  
“Sure your date won’t mind?”

Sterling rolled his eyes and reached forward, boldly grabbing the boy’s hand in his once again, this time with a sense of familiarity. “Shut up.”   
Nathan’s heart skipped at their sudden closeness and he couldn’t help but tighten his grip as they disappeared into the welcoming warmth of the cafe.

~*~*~

“Um, so I guess I really have to say goodbye this time.” Nathan stared at his fingers interlocked with Sterling’s, a touch he had already come to crave. “Thanks for the ride home. I don’t think I’ve ever been in a car so fancy and the driver was really nice.” He babbled on, not wanting their time together to end. In such a short time, Nate had found himself wanting more- more time, more laughs, more teasing, more touching. More Sterling. Something about him was magnetic- scratch that; everything about him. Most of all Nate wanted to see him again.

“Hey, don’t look so put out. I gave you my number, right? Use it.” Sterling smiled and slowly pulled his hand away from Nate’s, missing the warmth of his palm as the chilled night air touched the newly exposed skin. “Promise me.” He held up his pinky with a playful smirk and Nate met his eyes with a warm stare, a smile tugging at the corner of his lips as he hooked his pinky to Sterling’s.

“Promise.” In one swift motion, Nate was leaning forward, his toes stretching as he confirmed the softness of Sterling’s lips, capturing them with his own. They were sticky with orange soda, but sweet and warm and Nathan pulled away too soon, leaving a flustered Sterling to search for words. Covering his own blush with his hands, Nate grinned and grabbed the doorknob to his house, giving a little wave. “Goodnight, princess.” He teased then rushed inside, his insides bursting with butterflies.

Sterling stood frozen, his mouth agape only to be snapped back to reality by the slam of Nathan’s door. With a breathy laugh he shoved his hands in his pocket and turned back towards the street where his ride home awaited him, mumbling under his breath with a sweet smile painted on his lips and a new warmth stirring in his chest. “Goodnight, dweeb.”


End file.
